1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to improvements in a microwave oven, and more particularly, pertains to a new and improved method of cooking thin meat in a microwave oven.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those concerned with microwave cooking of a thin piece of meat in a microwave oven have long recognized the need to accurately determine the temperature of the meat. The present invention fills this need.
Past prior art devices have been extremely unreliable in determining the surface and internal temperature of meat. One initial prior art attempt at determining the internal doneness of meat was to insert a thermometer which was not affected by the microwave energy into the piece of meat being cooked. The disadvantage was that the thermometer only indicated the internal temperature of the meat at one particular location and was not a true overall indication of the equilibrium internal doneness of the meat.
Another current prior art device for measuring the internal temperature of meats being cooked is to insert a temperature probe into the meat while in the microwave oven heating cavity which connects to the control circuitry of the microwave oven. While the temperature probe is accurate in indicating the temperature of the meat being cooked by microwave energy, the probe only senses the temperature of the immediate area surrounding the probe and does not take into account the equilibrium state of the internal temperature of the meat. If the temperature of the meat is not uniform and the probe is placed at a hot spot in the meat, the readings from the temperature probe are not indicative of the internal doneness of the meat.
Further, the probe which is inserted into the meat is cumbersome and bulky for the cook who is trying to monitor the internal doneness of the meat during the microwave cooking in the microwave oven heating cavity. For a thin piece of meat being approximately equal to or less than one skin depth, it is difficult for a cook, if not impossible, to insert a temperature probe into the meat as the thickness may be less than one centimeter.
It has also been suggested to measure the humidity of the exhaust air from a microwave oven cavity to give certain indications of cooking conditions within the cavity. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,616.) However, the technique disclosed is largely limited to detection of an abrupt rise in humidity when boiling occurs, at which time the power is interrupted.
It has also been suggested to measure cooking time as a function of some "trigger" humidity in combination with a progressive-regressive timer.